Friday, August 31, 2007

When I got to the house this morning, Meadow was up and dressed in a tshirt and jeans, with her bathing suit bottoms on over top the jeans! Jerry said it was to avoid tears over getting dressed. Later in the day we ditched the jeans and put a different swimsuit on over top the shirt. She's going to be just like her mom when it comes to clothes - a definite mind of her own! We baked some buns and Meadow was my sit-on-the-counter helper. I remember our kids sitting beside me while I worked too. Good stuff!

Mom's onions are fascinating - they peel apart in layers!!

Back and forth on the swings.

Life's good when a girl's got cookies and water in her stroller on a hot day!

Dealing with the mail!! Working hard on the one touch philosophy instead of piling everything up. The recycling bin in my kitchen is full every day, it seems! The letter opener in the center of the picture was a high school graduation gift from a dear friend. It's one of the best letter openers I've ever seen!

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Life is good!! And so begins my year long leave of absence from teaching. This totally feels right and I have absolutely no regrets at this point. I will be thinking of my dear friends and colleagues and wishing them a rewarding year - but it will only be fleeting, I know (said with a great big smile!).

Melody Ross, over at Melody's Sofa, has a new photo project going on called "This Is My Life". Her goal: "just put photos of everyday moments that make your life unique, that make it what it is…that make it yours." I love the pictures she shared (go check it out - and read about some stuff that's made her an amazing person!) so I've decided to take this challenge on. I love the concept!!

Yesterday was full moon and as I finished cutting our lawn, it was just rising. How beautiful! It makes me appreciate again the place we call home.

Tranquil fields where the cows enjoy a evening snack.

Using the night setting on my camera, taken just moments before (yes, before) the first picture. I like the effect of the dark sky but not the flash happening. Learning more about my camera - a huge part of my life today!

I invite you to share some photos of your life today! Let me know and I'll come visit your blog to see!!

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

"Learning to Say No" is the topic Morning Glory and Lei chose for this week's Woman to Woman post. There is a lot I could say on this topic, all of it from personal experience. There are so many good causes, worthy groups, and great things deserving of one's help but the key word is I am only one person, with limited time, energy and resources.

With four children, I've been involved in helping with hockey, swimming, skating, track, PTA, band parents, church school and school sports. There were meetings, fund raising activities, chaperoning, events to work at and more bingos to work than I can count! All of these activities provided our family with amazing opportunities and many learning opportunities. But some days I was juggling schedules, commitments, and chores (we operated a dairy farm at the time most of this was happening) in a crazy way. Once I went to work fulltime, I quickly learned that some things had to give and I learned to be more selective about which activities I was going to commit to and be able to handle.

As a teacher, there is a never-ending list of projects, committees, events and causes that come along. Some things are must-dos, as part of my teaching assignment; some things are wonderful experiences for students; some things are professionally uplifting; some things are just fun! But if I try to do too many things, I've found out that my time inside my classroom and my students are bound to suffer. And that's the last thing that should give so I've had to consider carefully what the end result would be and who would benefit most before I agreed to do more. That was really hard to do sometimes!

As I've gotten older and wiser, it's been easier to say 'no' and not feel guilty about it. I've come to realize that my husband and my family need my best efforts and energy, not what I have left over after doing everything else. I've also realized that sometimes in groups we need to consider what we are doing in terms of people power and effectiveness. Doing a few things in a great way is much better than doing many things in a haphazard fashion in my thinking. Being constantly busy is not a good use of one's physical or mental energy either and the only person who can control that is me. So, I've learned to say "I can't right now" in a definite but pleasant way and leave it that.

So many others have expressed profound thoughts on this topic - make sure you go over to the host blogs and read those posts. There's alot to think about!

Monday, August 27, 2007

It was Chloe's birthday last week (she's the one on the left!)and I'm a little late with these wishes but they still come from our hearts. We hope you have a great year with lots of fun times (like skiing), good friends, great adventures and not too much homework!

Chloe is the youngest of our nieces in Bob's family and it's fun for us to watch her grow up. She's become a talented, kind and fun-to-be-with young woman.

Sunday, August 26, 2007

for this beautiful niece of ours! Tyneille and Ian are going to be married in 33 more days so we honored them today. It's always fun to gather with a bride-to-be and share in her excitement as she prepares for her wedding, a new home and a life shared with a man who she adores.

Tyneille with her mom, Carol, who is Bob's sister.

Cathy will be Tyneille's new mother-in-law. They have 5 sons, 3 married and 2 with fiancees, and one daughter.

Such cool gifts for new couples these days! Sarah and Kelly are Tyneille's bridesmaids and they had us play some cool games too. In the first one we had to identify different spices and herbs like basil, oregano,curry powder, rosemary, cloves, chili powder, sage, by smell only. (I got a dismal 2 out of 8!! I obviously do not have a great sense of smell, which has already been established in our family.) The second game was "Guess the Price" of 10 grocery items that were purchased at Walmart. Many people were within a dollar or two but I was $5. 75 over! The items included toothpaste, garbage bags, sponges, onion soup mix, Vim cleanser, dish soap, Milk-Bones (for Tyneille's dog), and green tea. The last one was "What do you know about Tyneille?" and I fared much better in this game, missing only one of the 14 questions.

Of course, delicious snacks were a great way to end the afternoon! Thanks to Norma, Andy and Chloe for hosting this party.

We are delighted for Tyneille, who is the oldest of our 5 godchildren and has a very special place in our hearts. We can only imagine what a radiant bride she will be on her wedding day and we wish her (and Ian!) a peaceful month as the days count down.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

I thought you might like to see a few more pictures from our camping weekend. It really was fun for the 8 of us to be together again and enjoy a summer weekend.

Eating our breakfast of ham, eggs and cinnamon pull-aparts around the campfire.

Abraham Lake is in this area of Alberta but it was too hazy on this day to get a good look at it. As the clouds shifted, we saw a reflection of the sun off the water at one point but the rain clouds soon rolled in again. Getting closer to the lake is a goal for another trip!

A curious chipmunk came out and we shared some nuts from our afternoon snack bag with him. He loved the cashews and stuffed his cheeks so full - it was funny to watch him. He'd tunneled under these rocks and popped up in all sorts of places on the hill. Isn't it funny how chipmunks and squirrels can be so entertaining when you are out in nature?

Wild potentilla were blooming all over the top of the windswept hill.

I think this is just about my favourite shot of the weekend! Darrin and Kelsey walked across the creek (without getting their boots wet inside - unlike me!) and were studying the rocks and little waterfall. It was such a beautiful spot that Esther thought would look great imported into her yard at home! Definitely wishful thinking!!

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

We were quadding in the foothills this weekend, west of Rocky Mountain House. We always have fun when we all get together and this trip was no exception. Good food, good stories, good scenery, good times!

It was so scenic along the way! Here the creek had altered its course so the quads shared the trail with the water.

To get out of the creek bed, we had to climb over a little but sharp rock wall. The guys stood by to help stabilize the machines.

While searching for Abraham Lake, we followed this trail to the top of the hill but still couldn't get over the ridge. It was quite a view from up here!

The trail was a dead end so we had to go back down this steep hill. Some of us had walked up and a few good quads got to the top. I love this view of the valley as Kelsey carefully descends the incline.

I love these little exercises in creativity that document some of the everyday things about me. These are tidbits of information and emotions that I'd love to know about anybody. Sometimes I think about Meadow and Helayna looking through these layouts when they are my age and the discoveries they will make about their grandmother! Plus it's just plain fun to play with paper and other stuff on a daily basis - AND it's fun to use some fo the yummy stuff that I have in my stash! Having said that, it's time to get real in my house today :)) Many, many things to do before we go to Poland in 2.5 weeks!!!

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Today's thoughts of gratitude are brought to you by the letter 'E'. And life was busy this week so I'm late but still extremely grateful.

1. Email - how I love seeing new messages from those I love and care about! Long or short, staying in touch so quickly with these messages just makes for good days.

2. Edmonton - the closest city to us, the place where I do my major shopping and where we go to concerts or sporting events. It has a beautiful river valley with many trails, golf courses and parks.

3. My wonderful sister, Esther. I am blessed to have such a caring, thoughtful, fun woman as my friend and my sister. She is always so generous with her time and expertise whenever any one of us needs something, including hugs. I love that we share so many interests and hobbies, including scrapbooking and quadding. Here we are at the top of the world near Grande Cache.

4. Evening - the quiet reflective time of my day.

5. Earth - the planet that sustains us and provides so many beautiful places and people to enjoy.

6. Eyes - with which to view the world and appreciate the beauty that surrounds us.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

We are just home from the Josh Groban concert and it was FANTASTIC!!!! I would go again in a heartbeat. Such good, good music from an amazing singer!! I loved every minute of his show.

The video show backdrop was really well done, complimenting each song beautifully.

Josh talked about his experiences in Africa and the impact they made on his life. The video here showed images from the trip. My favourite song in this section was "Lullaby" that he worked on with Dave Matthews.

He played to both sides of the crowd using stairs on each side and for one song even started way up in the crowd.

Thanks to flickr for these images. I didn't think to take my cellphone to take pictures - next time I'll be prepared! If I was really smart, I'd link you to YouTube so you could hear a song but that's not happening yet.

Whisk marinade ingredients together in a bowl. Reserve 2 - 3 tbsp. marinade for basting and as a dressing(there's not too much marinade so just reserve a little bit). Place pork in a large, heavy-duty, resealable plastic bag. Add marinade and seal bag. Turn bag several times to coat with marinade. Marinate in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Preheat grill to medium-high setting. Slice unpeeled zucchini lengthwise into four long strips. Seed peppers and cut each one in half. Place pork on a grill rack that has been coated with cooking spray or lightly brushed with oil. Grill meat until it's nicely browned on the outside and just slightly pink in the center, about 16 minutes. Be careful not to overcook pork. Add peppers and zuccchini for the last 8 minutes. Turn vegetables once to grill both sides and baste with some of the reserved marinade.

Remove pork and vegetables from grill and let pork rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Meanwhile slice peppers into thick slices and cut zucchini strips in half. Place vegetables in a large bowl, and add mango, thinly sliced pork and a bit of reserved marinade. Toss well. Serve on a bed of baby spinach leaves, if desired. Top with freshly ground black pepper.

From Eat, Shrink and Be Merry by Janet and Greta PodleskiSorry I don't have any pictures - I was in a rush to get to the book club organizational meeting!!

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Even though the weather's been much cooler this week, the garden is still thriving. These pictures take you on a little tour of what's keeping me busy these days. I haven't been much of a gardener in the past but I'm trying harder to keep ahead of the weeds and enjoy all the fresh local produce (free of charge now!) that a garden brings. It's a good feeling to know that only our energy is being used to produce this summer goodness.

Happy sunflowers that just make me feel happy when I see them!

The raspberry bushes have been loaded with beautiful berries. So far we've eaten most of what we've picked and we've shared some with our kids. Tomorrow's agenda includes making a batch of jam for winter enjoyment.

We have picked and picked and still there are berries ripening!

The green and yellow zucchini plants are doing great! So far I've managed to keep up with using or giving them away when they are just the right size (6 in.long)

Our potatoes are amazing this year - so many large tubers under each plant.